Electric

Volkswagen to Invest $40B+ on EVs, Autonomy

November 17, 2017
• by Staff

Photo courtesy of Volkswagen.

Volkswagen AG will spend more than 34 billion euros ($40 billion) in the next five years to revamp its vehicle lineup to include a heavier push of battery-electric vehicles, autonomous driving features, and ride hailing systems, the company has announced.

"We are reinventing the car," said CEO Matthias Müller. "To achieve that, we are making targeted investments to provide the necessary funds from our own resources."

The company has already laid out a plan to electrify its entire lineup by 2030, and build one EV out of every four cars produced. Volkswagen forecasts that it could sell 3 million electric cars per year at that point. It could produce at least one electric variant of each of its 300 models.

The group is realigning several of its manufacturing plants to accommodate the initiative.

The company will begin production of its first battery-electric vehicles for Europe on its MEB platform at its plant at Zwickau, where it now builds the Golf and Passat station wagon.

At the end of 2018, Volkswagen will consolidate Passat production at its Emden plant. The Golf will be built at its Wolfsburg plant from the next generation onward.

The company expects markets in Brazil, China, Russia, and North America to be its primary growth drivers in the coming years.

Trucking shouldn't waste time on pipe-dreams like platooning and autonomous trucks and instead focus on improving logistics and making the trade appeal to young people, said Hendrickson's Jeff Sass while speaking at the Heavy Duty Trucking Exchange in Phoenix.